Some people say that the so-called underworld should have four characteristics: First, it is rooted in the dark side of society, like moss under rocks; Second, it can coordinate and communicate with the authorities, having both "fight" and "harmony", rather than just "fight". This point is very important, without this point, a gang at most is just a group of robbers, not an underworld. Third, it has its own armed forces. Finally, it has its own creed and faith.

  Tracing back to this standard, it can be found that the history of the underworld is almost as long as the history of Chinese credit. For example, the Mohist School in the pre-Qin era basically conformed to the form of the underworld, but it can only be considered a budding period. The real gangsters emerged during the Han Dynasty, when Emperor Wu of Han implemented the "salt and iron monopoly". Iron is easy to say, but the court made salt, which ordinary people cannot leave for a day, into a monopolized commodity to make exorbitant profits, really lacking in virtue.

  As a result, a large number of people engaged in the smuggling of private salt emerged, doing a deadly business that naturally required organization and armed forces, as well as support from government officials and nobles. The true meaning of the underworld appeared. Later, the monopoly on salt and iron gradually opened up, allowing private capital to enter, and the underworld began to transform, with the gangster color becoming increasingly faint and the commercial atmosphere becoming increasingly strong. Finally, after a thousand years, the Shanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants were born, but that is another story.

  But these gangs operate between the upper echelons and the underworld, far removed from ordinary people, so there is still a considerable gap with the first definition of the black society - rooted in the dark side of society. The true black society that conforms to modern concepts emerged during the Tang Dynasty, when large cities like Chang'an and Luoyang appeared, as well as the emergence of the urban class.

  Compared to the rural areas where people are engaged in farming and have a simple life, cities are more likely to produce unstable elements. These include unemployed workers, vagrants, idlers, disabled soldiers, wandering performers, private prostitutes, beggars, and vagabonds... These people are at the bottom of society, with low social status, living in poverty, and unwilling or unable to make a living by selling their labor, so they engage in illegal activities. There is an idiom "city rascals" that refers specifically to them. When these illegal activities become organized, a true underworld is born.

  By the Song Dynasty, commodity economy had developed unprecedentedly, the slave system no longer existed, and peasants could move freely, with a large number of people pouring into cities. Naturally, the scale of city rascals also grew larger, and the scale of the underworld also expanded accordingly. However, the intensity of the Song Dynasty's crackdown on the underworld was unmatched by previous dynasties.

  Especially in the capital city of Kaifeng, no organizations with underworld nature were allowed to exist, and civilians were prohibited from carrying weapons. Moreover, a neighborhood watch system was implemented, making it difficult for gang members and their families to move about in daylight.

  In the capital city with hundreds of thousands of stationed troops, wanting to resist the government is unthinkable. This forced the underworld in Bianjing City to either move to the suburbs where control was weak or go underground.

  Speaking of the underground canals in Bianjing City, it's really... too magnificent. This is also because of Zhao Guangyi, who refused to let his brother move the capital back then. As a result, Kaifeng City, which has a flat terrain, not only has no danger to defend against during wartime, but also floods easily whenever it rains heavily.

  It is precisely because of this that the builders of all generations have worked hard to build underground drainage facilities for Bianjing City. After more than a hundred years of construction, the underground waterways in Bianjing City have formed a spider web-like network several meters deep. The main roads of these waterways are generally one meter high and one meter wide, and at some key points, there are even spaces as large as two or three meters, the size of a football field. Not only can people walk through them, but horses can also run through them, and boats can be rowed during the rainy season.

  This is not an exaggeration, the urban drainage technology in the Song Dynasty was very advanced. In Jiangxi Province's Ganzhou City, the sewage system built during the Song Dynasty was still in use over 1,000 years later. During the Song Dynasty, Ganzhou City was situated on a riverbank, similar to how the Yongding River is related to Beijing...

  It was precisely this advanced drainage technology that enabled China to have cities with a population of over one million as early as the Song Dynasty, while seven hundred years later, the so-called beacons of civilization - Paris and London - were still filthy like giant toilets, with sewage flowing everywhere, stinking to high heaven, not to mention sewers or even latrines, people would quietly find a corner to relieve themselves when nature called... However, we are not qualified to laugh at others, because at that time, the subjects of my great Qing dynasty were also in the same state.

  Also known as China's two most spoiled dynasties, why is the gap between them so big?

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  This crisscrossing underground labyrinth became a haven for the underworld of Bianjing City, earning it the nickname "Worry-Free Cave". Every year, countless people with nowhere else to turn would enter this vast underground world through hidden entrances in the city's drainage ditches, becoming members of the Worry-Free Cave.

  However, the mice that live underground also need to go to the surface to find food to eat. Moreover, everyone who joins the Worry-Free Cave is not just looking for a solution to their hunger and cold, but also hopes to have wine, meat, and women - these things do not grow underground and can only be obtained through the surface.

  Wine and meat, as well as gold and silver, are easily settled... The casinos, brothels, pawnshops, and docks on the ground, if they want to operate normally, must pay them protection fees. Some of these businesses even directly have their own people with a clean background come out to run them. There are also many ways to make money that can satisfy their extravagant desires... at least the desires of the middle and upper classes.

  But there is one thing they can't buy, and that's a woman...

  Although in Bianliang City, brothels are as common as restaurants that are necessary for life, they can be found everywhere and seen everywhere, which really fulfills the ancient saying "food and sex, human nature". It is said that there are more than 20,000 prostitutes in Bianjing City, but the vast majority are "official prostitutes"... Official prostitutes do not refer to prostitutes owned by government agencies, but rather to registered sex workers in government agencies, also known as "music books".

  This means that on the one hand, they have to serve the government for free at many times... but does not include providing **services. On the other hand, their personal safety will also be protected by the government. In the Tang Dynasty, officials playing with, raping or even killing official prostitutes may not be considered illegal, but in the Song Dynasty, let alone killing prostitutes, officials ordering official prostitutes to serve them at night are also illegal... Of course, outside of Bianjing, this rule seems to be a mere formality.

  But at least in Bianjing City, if a brothel is short of a few girls, it's going to be a big trouble...

  Apart from this, there are also so-called private prostitutes who do not enter the music register, and they entice customers in their own homes, known as "half-closed doors". They have a civilian household registration status, and their personal safety is naturally more guaranteed.

  Because, forcing prostitutes to come and serve them is not unheard of, but the number is very small, far from meeting the demand. Can only rely on looting... The Song Dynasty prohibited human trafficking, parents would not send their children to unreliable families as slaves or servants, which naturally led to a huge labor shortage, so the looting of people in the Song Dynasty was rampant.

  The population trade in Tokyo is monopolized by the Worry-Free Cave, and their main source of human trafficking comes from remote areas such as Hebei Road, Liangguang Road, and areas affected by floods, droughts, and locust disasters. They either abduct or kidnap people and bring them back to the Worry-Free Cave for exploitation or sell them off for a profit... There is naturally more to this story, but it will not be told here.

  Another source is to kidnap women from various night markets, specifically targeting those who are beautiful, well-behaved and well-educated, or young maidservants. The number is naturally very small, mainly for the enjoyment of the big bosses.

  Hou San was such a rascal, sleeping soundly in the Worry-Free Cave during the day and roaming around the night market at night, looking for suitable targets to take advantage of. He used to be a hoodlum with the nickname "Golden Monkey", but after stabbing someone in a fight, he fled into the Worry-Free Cave out of fear of punishment.

  Only after entering did I realize that, although the name of Worry-Free Cave sounds pleasant, compared to Bianjing City which is like heaven on earth, it's like hell. Not only for the sex slaves and slaves who were taken in, but also for these low-ranking thugs, they didn't have a good time either.

  Fortunately, he was quite clever and a Tokyo native. After being tormented in the training grounds for several months, an elder took notice of him and asked if he wanted to become a disciple.

  To keep his own chrysanthemum, Hou San agreed without hesitation, first assisting the master to make a fortune, and later when the master was caught by the government, he took over as the master. Two months after the new year, he had already brought apprentices, abducted three women, and if he abducted two more, he would be promoted to Tang Zhu, from then on, he could not only avoid being in the front line but also enjoy good food, drink, and women...

  He was just too young and impatient, the frequency of his crimes was too high, which attracted the attention of the government. Throughout March and April, there were officials patrolling all night at Zhou Bridge, forcing him to hide underground for a month, occasionally coming out for a short while, but he couldn't even catch his breath, let alone commit another crime.

  In the past few days, the official patrol finally relaxed, and Hou San couldn't wait to bring a few apprentices up, preparing to catch another two, and everything would be fine.

  People are indeed forgetful, it's only been two months since the Consecutive Girl Missing Case. The night market at Zhou Bridge is once again filled with women of all kinds coming out to have fun... among them, there are those who make Hou San's eyes light up.

  "Why not get started early tonight?" Hou San knew that if he made a move today, by tomorrow night at Zhouqiao Night Market, even the flies would be talking about it. So if he was going to do it, he had to hurry: "Best to strike twice in one night, who cares what happens tomorrow?"

  At this time, his cunning eyes fixed on a young couple, seeing that the woman was very delicate and the man was also gentle. Hou San then collected his thoughts and stared intently at the two of them.

  He followed them, strolling through the night market. The woman seemed to have sneaked out and was being overly affectionate with the man, but they only wandered around for about half an hour before the woman wanted to head back. The man hadn't had enough of the stroll, but the beauty had spoken, so he could only accompany her out of the night market...